Last month, I was lucky enough to attend CloudLive 2019 on behalf of AC3. The second annual Global CloudHealth Summit held in Boston, MA, brought customers and partners from all corners of the world to reflect on the year that passed and look beyond what’s ahead for CloudHealth; to innovate, collaborate and grow in 2020!
Day one saw the resurrection of the Partner Advisory Board where I sat down with 20+ other partners and discussed the challenges we’re currently facing in the cloud today. It was a day full of lively discussion and I was genuinely surprised at how similar our focus points were to one another despite each business having vastly different cloud strategies.
Day two was training day. I attended back to back sessions where I focused on both expanding my current knowledge on CloudHealth products we use daily and discovering different approaches, we, as a business can utilise to achieve our business goals.
The following Wednesday and Thursday, we were lucky enough to hear from VMWare’s Sanjay Poonen who spoke to CloudHealth and VMWare’s role in SaaS transformation; VMware’s push into containers, Kubernetes and security, and his view of leadership as well as NFL CIO Michelle McKenna’s take on the importance of the association between technology and finance. The breakout sessions were informative and engaging, particularly on the MSP track which was tailored to Partners.
The single most important takeaway from the event was that, we, at AC3 are on the right track in terms of where we are positioned and how we are implementing CloudHealth. Being able to connect with other cloud gurus from around the world helped me solidify the direction we’re heading when it comes to cloud cost management and optimisation with CloudHealth. No one element of cost management is simple or clear cut and all present their own value. Whether it be cost optimisation through reserved instances or simply getting a hold of what you’re spending your budget on. Each has their own unique journey and opportunities for growth and education around more than just dollars and cents.
Over the next year, we’re going to see some great advancements in getting a broader understanding on a customer’s relative cloud health level. While I can’t go into too much detail, it’s sure to be another game changer.
We’re also in for a year of increased customer awareness when it comes to optimisation. AC3 is playing a major part in driving this agenda for our customers with cost optimisation exercises becoming a strong focus in proactive management.
This article was written by Kate Durnell, Client Services Team Lead at AC3. Kate attended CloudLive 2019, a three-day event dedicated to transforming and scaling businesses in the cloud.